Hawwa was the first woman and the first
Muslimah to be created by Allah (s.w.t).

Hawwa represents, on the one hand,
womanhood and, on the other, the source of human population. In fact, her name
means "the source of life". Hawwa also has another meaning which is used to
denote a reddy colour that is closer to the darker tone. There is an opinion
that this could allude to her skin colour.

The name Hawwa itself is not mentioned in
the Qur'an but is mentioned in hadeeth literature. For it is there that we get
such information as the meaning of her name, how she was created and how many
children she had.

For instance, Hawwa, according to the
Qur'an, was created from Adam (see Surah an-Nisaa:1 and Surah az-Zumar:6). From
Bukhari, this was further elucidated and we find that Hawwa was created from the
upper rib of Adam.

Narrated Abu Huraira (r) Allah's Apostle
(s) said: "Treat women nicely, for a woman is created from a rib, and the most
curved portion of the rib is its upper portion, so, if you should try to
straighten it, it will break; but if you leave it as it is, it will remain
crooked. So treat women nicely." (Bukhari) This hadeeth does not literally mean
that women are crooked or evil by nature. What it means is that women are
delicate and should be treated gently and with care. Furthermore, it has been
explained that the breakage of the rib in case one tries to straighten it,
stands for divorce which is the natural results of disagreement between the wife
and her husband. In the Qur'an, the story of Adam and Hawwa can be found in
three places, namely Surah al-Baqara:30-39, Surah al-A'araf:11-25, and Surah
Ta-Ha:116-123. As the story goes, Allah created Adam from clay and taught him
the names of things, that is knowledge. Then Allah said in the Qur'an (surah
Ta-Ha:116-123):

When We said to the angels, "prostrate
yourselves to Adam", they prostrated themselves, but Iblis: he refused. Then We
said "O Adam! Verily this is an enemy to you and your wife: so let him not get
you both out of the Garden, so that you art landed in misery. There is therein
(enough provision) for you not to go hungry nor go naked. Nor to suffer from
thirst, nor from the sun's heat.

But Satan whispered evil to him. He said
"O Adam! Shall I lead you to the tree of eternity and to a kingdom that never
decays?" In the result, they both ate of the tree, and so their nakedness
appeared to them: they began to sew together, for their covering, leaves from
the Garden: Thus did Adam disobey his Lord and fell into error.

But his Lord chose him (for His Grace): He
turned to him and gave him guidance. He said "Get you down both of you, all
together, from the Garden, with enmity one to another: but if as is sure, there
comes to you guidance from Me, whosoever follows My guidance will not lose his
way nor fall into misery.

In all cultures and its religious beliefs,
traces of the story of Adam and Hawwa can be found, though it has been greatly
distorted. However, it is important to note that the Quranic story of Adam and
Hawwa differs from the Old Testament in that :

(i) Both Adam and Hawwa were equally
guilty of disobeying Allah by eating from "that" tree. "That" tree does not mean
an apple tree. Only Allah knows what fruit "that" tree bears.

(ii) Allah forgave Adam's and Hawwa's sins
before their descent to earth.

(iii) It was part of Allah's will that
Adam and Hawwa were to reside on earth. For, Allah in surah al-Baqara, ayah 30,
He said that He is creating Adam as a vicegerent on earth. Furthermore, from the
hadeeth we have: Abu Hurairah reported: The Apostle of Allah (s) said: 'When
Adam and Moses held a discussion, Adam won. Moses said: "You are the same Adam
who set people astray and had them ousted from Heaven". Adam asked: "Art you the
same Moses whom Allah gave knowledge of all things and honoured you with
Apostleship?" He replied: "Yes!" Adam said: "And yet you accused me of that
which has written in my fate!" (Al-Muwatta')

When Adam and Hawwa landed on earth they
were separated. According to traditions Hawwa landed in Jeddah while Adam landed
somewhere in India (some say in Sri Lanka). Then on the ninth of Zhuh Hijjah,
they met at 'Arafat. Thus, began their life together on earth till they were
called back to Allah.

Hawwa
gave birth twenty times and each time she had twins with the exception of her
last birth, where she gave birth to only a son. In other words, she had
thirty-nine children in total. The gap between each birth was two years.